


That Author

by brentdax



Series: Hermione Last Drabble Writer Standing Entries [10]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: All Word Counters Lie, Gen, Hey, I Should Know, I Wrote A Word Counter And It Only Lied A Little Less Than The Others, It's Like Inception But In Drabble Form, Metafiction, Nested Drabbles, Quadruple Drabble, Reverse Chronology, Right?, Something Strange In The Neighborhood, The AO3 Word Counter Lies, This May Be The Result Of Having Just Attended A Party Like The One In The Story, write what you know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-10-27
Updated: 2007-10-27
Packaged: 2017-12-25 04:01:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/948392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brentdax/pseuds/brentdax
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry's fame backfires on the Trio. Again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	That Author

**Author's Note:**

> This quadruple drabble (with a single-double-single internal structure) was my final entry in round two of the [Hermione Last Drabble Writer Standing](http://hermione-ldws.livejournal.com/) contest. 
> 
> As there were only two authors left in this round, each of us wrote a challenge for the other to satisfy. The challenge I issued was:
> 
> "Write a story based on a fanfiction cliché. The story should contain at least one major element that's stereotypical in (longer) fanfic—an unexpected pregnancy, a surprise discovery of unusual powers or lineage, a time-travel "second chance" scenario, a common type of alternate universe, etc. The hard part, of course, is to keep the story interesting despite the cliché— _and_ within the word limit."
> 
> The other competitor, [star54kar](http://archiveofourown.org/users/star54kar/pseuds/star54kar), deservedly won the contest with her entry, which can also be read [here on AO3](http://archiveofourown.org/works/132335).
> 
> The precise wording of the challenge that this fic answers has been lost to time, but the gist of it was that the fic could not be written in the order that the events in it actually happened.

She glanced to the side as she rushed into the shockingly cold night air. Neville was sprawled on the ground, apparently having taken a heavy metal door to the face. The suspect was twenty yards ahead, running towards the edge of Harry’s Anti-Apparation Field.

She put on a little more speed, trying to close the distance. She felt something huge pass her, but Harry’s invisible Paralyzing Curse sizzled past the suspect, scorching a tree.

With a loud crack, the cloaked figure disappeared.

Hermione skidded to a stop, then padded back to Neville, muttering, “Not if I kill her first.”

* * *

It was worse than they’d feared. The room was full of robes, cloaks, and even capes, lit by a dizzying array of moving and flashing colored lights. A group of seven friends passed them, wearing bed sheets that declared them to be the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

Music blared out of the speakers, adding to the surreal scene:

> _If there’s somethin’ weird_  
>  And it don’ look good  
>  Who you gonna call?  
>  GHOSTBUSTERS! 

A rather put-out looking woman left the dance floor; judging by the white powder, thick glasses, and papier-mâché toilet seat, Hermione supposed she was dressed as Moaning Myrtle.

Out on the dance floor, someone waved a wand above the crowd. Harry cast a Disarming Spell, but even as he did, they both noticed the trash bag tied around the owner’s shoulders and realized he was a costumed Muggle.

But Hermione had spotted a cloaked figure pushing through the crowd, rushing towards the fire exit. The Muggle might have been confused by the wand leaving his hand, but the suspect understood: there were real wizards here, ready to fight. Hermione darted past a bespectacled girl with a phosphorescent lightning-bolt scar and gave chase, Harry on her heels.

* * *

“Ron, cover the front,” Harry ordered. “Neville, the fire exit. Hermione, with me.” Neville disappeared around the side of the building; though technically equal, all four Aurors respected Harry’s judgment.

The remaining three walked past the line of people waiting to enter the nightclub. “How do we get in?” Harry asked as he cast an Anti-Apparition Field.

“Confundus,” Hermione suggested. “Make the bouncers think a robed couple bypassing the line is--oh, no.”

She pointed at a sign at the entrance: “Harry Potter Halloween Party.”

“It’ll be full of robes...” Harry said.

“I’ll kill that bloody author,” Ron muttered.


End file.
